Go All the Way Before You Have It All Worked Out
Expedition Field Notes
Doug Tompkins, the late founder of The North Face had a sign in his office that read, “Commit and Then Figure it Out.”
That philosophy is at the heart of Vagabond Expeditions.
You just have to take the first step, you just have to go. Risk is inherent in life, some people are comfortable on the sidelines. As one of the greatest outdoorsmen the world has ever known, Teddy Roosevelt said,
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails by daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.
Those cold and timid souls are on the sidelines.
There are moments of doubt and moments of imposter syndrome that begin to settle in. Ignore those thoughts, ignore whatever you think everyone else’s reaction to your action will be. That’s what those on the sidelines do, they judge those in the arena. Ignore the noise.
It is suggested that Ernest Hemingway once wrote, “Go all the way with it. Do not back off. For once, go all the goddamn way with what matters.” While I can’t attribute this to Hemingway with one hundred percent accuracy, I hope he said it and the sentiment is what really matters here.
That is the approach appropriate for living the strenuous life, as Mr. Roosevelt put it.
Go all the goddamn way with it.
Whatever idea you’ve been putting off, whatever journey you’ve been thinking about and not taking, just go all the goddamn way.
Put doubt and fear in the rearview mirror and when shit goes sideways and the devil appears at your door warning of the coming storm, laugh and tell that son of bitch, you are the storm.
Could you use more experience? Yes. Better equipment? Yes. Another week to research the route? Probably, yes. Some reassurance that the weather will cooperate and the whole thing will be worth the trouble? Also, yes.
Sometimes those concerns deserve attention. Sometimes you’ve already done enough preparation, and still the doubt and fear are moving into your headspace. All the planning and preparation in the world can’t give you what the fear and doubt are asking for: certainty.
You just have to go. All the goddamn way. Get in the arena, and fucking go. Accept that facing the uncertainty, the doubt and the fear is where living this life really begins.
Pick something you’ve been meaning to do. Prepare with care and attention to detail. Then go all the goddamn way.
Yours in Exploration,
Brian Facemire
Founder, Vagabond Expeditions
P.S. Pardon my language